Town Crier Articles

One week before the 25th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 70 New Town residents and family members came together at Legacy Hall to remember that tragic day, which changed so many lives and reshaped our nation and the world.

 

The evening began with a moment of silence in honor of the 3,000 people who died in the Towers and in the Pentagon and in the hijacked planes, and the 6,000 who were wounded, as well as many others, who would ultimately suffer from lung damage, cancers and other maladies. 

 

The commemoration focused on first-hand accounts of the attack and began with a series of images from that day.  Then, reading from a script by Liz Fones-Wolf based on Gerald Graff’s oral history, The Only Plane in the Sky, residents Mary Jo Mulligan Kehoe, Jack Espinal, Ken Fones-Wolf and his visiting sister, Geri Severs, Jon Thomas, Brian Grieff, as well as brand-new resident, Alex Porpora, spoke with passion the words of people in the towers, in the Pentagon, on the planes and in the White House. Members of the audience sat in rapt attention as they heard fear, terror, confusion, encouragement, disbelief, determination and love.

 

For instance, Melissa Doi, financial manager, IQ Financials, 83rd floor, South Tower, whose words were captured on a recorded line with a 911 operator, pleaded for help, crying “Its very hot everywhere on the floor.  I don’t see any air anymore.  I am going to die, aren’t I?  It’s so hot. I’m burning up.”  

 

Peter Bitwinski, assistant manager, Port Authority, North Tower 69th floor recalled his experience on the stairwell seeing firemen walking up with full equipment, these big metal picks, and they were sweating like crazy. “The firemen cheered us on, encouraging us, ‘Keep going they said; You’re doing a good job.’ While I was walking down, they were going up to their deaths.”

 

Particularly difficult to hear were the last words spoken in phone calls to wives and husbands trapped in the towers and on hijacked planes. Beverly Eckert, wife of Sean Rooney, Aon Corporation, 98th floor, South Tower, remembered “We talked about all the happiness we shared during our lives together.  In the end, as the smoke got thicker, he kept whispering, “I love you, over and over.” She was on the phone with him when the tower collapsed.

 

After the readings, four panelists shared their 9/11 memories. They included residents Bob Hyatt, of the Army Corps of Engineers and Tim Weidman, an executive with Barclay Bank, who were working in buildings close to the World Trade Center. Rounding out the panel were Tony Zotto, who was working in the White House as head of Vice-President’s Dick Cheney’s Secret Service detail, and Leslie Lautenslager, aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell, in charge of Protocol, who was at the State department.

 

Bob Hyatt was in a meeting, turned and through a window saw the first hijacked plane fly right by him just before it struck the North Tower. Familiar with flight operations over New York City, Bob immediately knew that what he was watching was no accident. From his office, Tim Weidman viewed in horror people jumping from the North Tower.  More than 200 people  were blasted out or jumped through the long vertical windows they had broken to get air and then clung to the facade of the building to escape the unbearable heat and flames.

 

Tony Zotto was in the White House bunker and was responsible for Cheney’s health and safety. He was concerned because the vice-president had a serious heart condition, but after checking Cheney, Tony was relieved that he was calm and composed. As word reached them that a fourth hijacked plane was headed to Washington D.C. with the potential goal of hitting the Capitol, Tony was beside the vice-president when he made the horrendous decision to authorize the shooting down of a civilian airliner. Upon learning that the plane had crashed, the initial assumption in the bunker was that it was shot down by a military pilot, but they ultimately learned that Flight 93 crashed as passengers fought for control of the plane. Leslie Lautenslager vividly recalled that there was fear and confusion at the State Department, especially when they were ordered to evacuate and there was a report that a bomb had gone off in their building. Confusion turned to puzzlement because there was no bombing, but there was a loud sound across Washington D.C. created by a military jet’s sonic boom. 

 

In the last part of the evening New Towners shared their memories of 9/11. One resident, who was a nurse at New York City’s Sloan-Kettering Hospital, was called back to work when the hospital initiated its emergency plan in anticipation of mass causalities among the 50,000 people who worked at the World Trade Center. But none arrived at her hospital because after the towers fell, there were few survivors in the pancaked ruins. Ruth Burgess recalled she had driven to Portsmouth on beautiful day and on her way had driven across the James River bridge. But on her return to Williamsburg, reflecting the fear of more attacks and the immediate heightened security, the bridge was closed and National Guard troops were at the intersections of the roads and for some time afterwards cars were checked before crossing the bridge.

 

For resident Pat Bright, New Town’s commemoration “was a fitting way to honor so very many that experienced unimaginable fear, cruel death and demonstrated extraordinary bravery. And to remind us, that in the midst of this unimaginable cruelty and evil, that we are Americans - a people that hold steadfast to the ideals of freedom.”  She continued “I am sure that I speak for all of us that we were honored to participate in this truthful, balanced, and important experience that allowed us to confront the many facets of the lasting turn of events that reshaped our nation.”

 

       

Cardinal Ridge is being developed by DR Horton, a national builder of move-in ready homes who focuses on spec homes, already outfitted and sited, versus pick your lot and home style and all of your options. Comprising about 365.6 acres of Eastern State Hospital land, the development will be accessible via Longhill Rd. and DePue Dr. via Ashbury Lane, Galt Drive, and Schmidt Rd.

 

The proposal now includes fewer homes than originally offered, 770 v 1003. DR Horton reduced the plan’s apartments from 450 to 246 to only feature affordable dwelling units based on income. More park greenspace has been included between the apartments and the multifamily townhome units. The style of townhomes has also been adjusted, but the overall space/footprint for the entire development remains the same. According to DR Horton’s attorney, the 100,000 sq ft of commercial space for the "Marketplace District" will now be developed by DR Horton itself rather than conveyed to the County, which allowed DR Horton the financial leeway to reduce the project’s overall residential density. (The concept of a Community Development Authority to fund road improvements and infrastructure - see February 2026 Town Crier - has been dropped from their plan.) DR Horton has also explicitly proffered for the cleanup and removal of all abandoned infrastructure in the site.

 

Even with the latest density reduction, imagine on average, per household, 2 cars, and/or future visits from guests, service vehicles like HVAC companies and the like. That’s a lot of traffic added to the area between two Route 199 exits, including the new government center and County library. And the Cardinal Ridge commercial proposal envisions adding a grocery store and other retail at the intersection of Longhill Rd and DePue Dr. where a new traffic circle will move traffic into and around the area.

 

Meanwhile New Town’s Main Street Shopping area has many vacancies like the former Joann Fabrics and other smaller stores. New Town’s Main Street is owned by an out of state company in Connecticut which keeps rents high and allows the shopping district to look sadder every year with empty store fronts, dead and dying trees, and no maintenance. A tax write-off? So maybe we do need more retail?

 

This Cardinal Ridge project still needs County rezoning approval. DR Horton scheduled two community meetings with one planned this Thursday, September 3 at King of Glory Lutheran Church (4897 Longhill Rd) from 4:30 to 6:00PM to show county residents how they have scaled back the project to meet concerns. Jamestown Supervisor Jim Icenhour attended the first community meeting and, according to news reports, wasn’t convinced the modifications will change his opposition when the JCC Board of Supervisors vote on the rezoning request on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Stay tuned! 

 

[NOTE: Information for the Cardinal Ridge public hearing can be found on the JCC website. The Supervisors meeting will start at 5PM at the County Government Center Board Room, 101 Mount Bays Road, Williamsburg and will be livestreamed.] 

 

 

 

You have no doubt seen the green and white PORCH Food Drive signs that appear throughout New Town around the second Saturday of the month. These signs advertise our community effort to collect food and personal hygiene products to benefit those in need.

 

How does PORCH work?

 

 

We all know how pretty Ivy is!  However, do you know the reasons why it should not be planted or grown in New Town flower beds?

 

Ivy has several drawbacks that can impact your garden negatively. While English Ivy has traditionally been recommended as a fast-growing ground cover, that is precisely what makes it so bad in a flower bed.

 

English Ivy has been labeled as invasive in both the United States and Canada. THINK TWICE BEFORE PLANTING IT IN YOUR NEW TOWN FLOWER BEDS! 

 

Here are five reasons against growing English Ivy in your flower beds:

 

If you'd like some alternate ideas on what to plant, consult this list of resources provided by the NTRA Landscape Advisory Committee. 

 

 

 

If you haven’t heard (really?) about Flock cameras, they are cameras which automatically capture license plate numbers and they are closer than you think. There is one at Monticello Avenue and Ironbound, as you enter into the City of Williamsburg, and another, now this is confusing, at Ironbound/Depue and Ironbound heading towards Aldi and CVS, opposite the stadium. Blink (another kind of camera) and you miss it, but it doesn’t miss you. 

 

There is a lot of controversy about these Flock cameras, designed, we are told, to help law enforcement capture the bad guys. This may be true, but many communities have rejected these and citizens and voters have not been asked if they approve of them, and they are deployed across the country. These cameras and their data can be accessed and shared nationally. But new measures which should become law eventually will limit access to the information, by whom and for how long. James City County, for example, has reduced the county's retention of data collected by its Flock surveillance cameras from 21 to 14 days.

 

If you don’t want your license plate recorded with Flock, there is a way to plan around them. DeFlock.org is a free, open-source map of every plate reader from Flock and others that volunteers have spotted. There’s also an ad supported free app, FlockHopper, which gives you routing options to your destination. More than 336,000 cameras pinned and counting. Flock’s CEO Garrett Langley reportedly blocks his plates and varies his routes. You can also, or not! Buckle up and drive safely! 

James City County offers grants from time to time for area groups and homeowner associations looking to spruce up common areas. The New Town Residential Association has utilized these matching grant awards for landscape improvements in our community already. The matching grants of up to $500 are available to enhance the sustainability and sense of community of neighborhoods through the implementation of environmentally sustainable projects such as water conservation efforts, native and pollinator garden planting, and installation of erosion control measures.

 

The Good Neighbor Grant Application deadline for submissions is September 15  at 4 p.m. Grant award amounts are contingent upon the number of applications received and available funding. For more information, call 757-259-4080 and contact our community manager or a member of the NTRA Board for further details if there's a project you would like to be considered here in New Town.

On July 14th, James City County’s Board of Supervisors narrowly approved rezoning for Westwood Park, a largely residential development next to New Town on Eastern State Hospital surplus property with a 3-2 vote. Of specific interest to New Town residents, during the public hearing JCC staff announced that ABVA had added two proffers to their application to address access to the development – Proffer 16 stating “there shall be no access via Olive Drive to the property” and Proffer 17 to add an emergency vehicle access point during site plan development (tentatively shown as via the New Town Commercial Association maintenance facility area on Discovery Park Boulevard.) 

 

Stephen Rodgers, JCC Planning Commission member, reviewed the Commission’s April 2025 recommendation to deny, which was driven by concerns that the applicant had not done enough to mitigate stormwater and environmental impacts. He noted that ABVA had made several changes in the past year to help address these objections. Vernon Geddy representing the applicant, ABVA, and four JCC residents testified at the hearing with subsequent Board discussion centering on egress, reduced density, stormwater issues, and housing affordability. In response to questions, ABVA’s Michael Youngblood who developed most neighborhoods in our community, explained that of the proposed 139 housing units, he expects to sell the 82 single family homes for between $700,000 and $1 million, and the market rate townhouses would be in the $475,000 - $600,000 range. (At least 28 units are committed to be affordable housing.) 

 

The three supervisors who voted in favor of the development (Chair John McGlennon, Vice Chair Ruth Larson and Powhatan member Tracy Wainwright) spoke to ABVA’s responsiveness to New Town residents’ concerns making the project more palatable. They described its “urban village” appeal as being attractive for young people and their families. McGlennon said the reduction in the development’s proposed size and scale and integration of affordable units swayed him. All three commented on affordable housing as being a key consideration for this PSA location while recognizing that Powhatan Creek issues need to be addressed more strongly with the State because the project’s stormwater restoration fund contribution alone won’t do much to fix things. 

 

Supervisor Null said the Board must consider safety and egress for all developments. The addition of an emergency vehicle outlet alone did not provide two roads for residents’ access.

 

Supervisor Icenhour outlined the pros and cons of the development. He based his no vote on the project’s likely cost to James City County due to the location’s cumulative impacts on the Powhatan subwatershed and sewer systems. This area of the Powhatan Creek Subwatershed is headed towards being a “sewage way.” The projected $2 million cost of stream restoration for the Eastern State property and the need for extensive sewer system improvements will be major infrastructure investments for all JCC taxpayers. He felt it was unwise to keep adding to housing inventory that further degrades the sewer system without a better idea of the long-term solution, citing the “7,000 units that have been approved but not yet built in the county.”

DATE:   Thursday, September 3 

 

PLACE:  Legacy Hall
TIME:   7:00 PM

 

Virtually every American above a certain age has a clear memory of what they were doing on September 11, 2001 when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing 3,000 people and creating terror and confusion throughout our country. These attacks had a deep impact on American society and politics and led to the global war on terror.

       

On Thursday, September 3, the New Town Residential Association invites residents, their friends and families and others to remember together this tragic day, which changed so many lives.  

     

Drawing on an oral history of 9/11, our commemoration will begin with residents speaking the words of first responders and decisionmakers as well as those in the towers, on the planes and others.  Then, speakers Tony Zotto, who was head of Vice President Cheney’s Secret Service detail, Leslie Lautenslager, aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell, and two New Town residents, Bob Hyatt and Tim Weidman, who worked in buildings close to the Twin Towers, will share their experiences. Finally, we will ask members of the audience to share their memories of the day.  

   

Afterwards, there will be a reception and opportunity to continue sharing  memories.